Devil in a Bottle
by Ace's Shadow Girl
Summary: Nami suddenly starts to act all cruel due to a mysterious potion, saying things she doesn't really want to say. It's hard for the whole crew, but especially for Luffy. Things end up in a conflict - and a salvation?
1. The Devil in Disguise

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One Piece.**  
**

**Author's note: **Finally, dear Dr. Dico Gogz. I promised you'd get it someday. Enjoy your Christmas present^^ (All of you!)

Oh, and it's real name is "Devil in a Bottle Laughing Evilly", because then I can abbreviate it to D.I.A.B.L.E. – cool, isn't it? ;-)

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Devil in Disguise**

"Robin, you finished?" Nami called somewhat impatiently. "We still have some things to get …"

The black-haired archaeologist looked up from a shabby-looking, huge book she seemed rather interested in. "I am afraid you are right, Nami-san," she replied in her usual calm manner. "Why don't you and Chopper go ahead and I will come back to the Sunny as soon as I have finished?"

Nami sighed. She didn't know why she had teamed up with Robin and Chopper to explore the town they landed at, but there she was. The bookstore the three of them currently were in hadn't been very well-equipped with books about navigation, and Chopper seemed pretty disappointed, too. Only Robin seemed to have lots of things to look at.

"Well, okay," she finally agreed. "Chopper?"

"Alright, Nami."

"See you at the ship," Robin said goodbye to the two of them, and they went out of the store, to the busy-looking street. There were booths and stalls everywhere, and most of them looked quite interesting.

"Whoa, Nami! Look at that!" Chopper yelped and pointed at one booth filled with sweets hanging and lying around everywhere while licking his … uh … mouth.

Nami herself wasn't very impressed by sweets. She had found a stall with paper and drawing stuff and was momentarily pondering about whether these sheets really were high-quality paper or not. When she finally decided to purchase some of them, both she and Chopper were distracted by a voice well-known to them.

"Nami! Chopper! Robin!" a certain curly-haired and long-nosed sharpshooter called, and from the fact that he sounded very high-pitched, they knew immediately that he was quite agitated.

"What is it?" Nami asked with a bad feeling, grabbing his arm to stop him as he wanted to hurry past her.

"Eek!" he exclaimed, surprised, before he recognised her. "Oh, it's you! Where are the … Oh, Chopper! Where's Robin?" he babbled in a rushed manner and completely out of breath from all the running.

"She's at the bookstore, why?" Nami enquired. "What's wrong, Usopp?"

"Marines!" he uttered, and Nami's as well as Chopper's eyes widened slightly. "There's a Marine station at this island, and currently they're after Sanji and Zoro …"

"WHAT?" they both exclaimed.

"… only I managed to escape, being the great sportsman that I am. It reminded me of a time I outran a whole bunch of …"

"We don't have time for boasting!" Nami hissed and grabbed the sniper by the shoulders, shaking him almost violently. "Where are the others? Where's Luffy? Weren't you with him?"

"Yes, but he's gone back helping them, and Franky and Brook are readying the Sunny at the moment …"

"He's gone back?" Nami groaned and released Usopp from her grip. Chopper just watched with a serious expression. Why couldn't their hyperactive, fighting-obsessed captain just once avoid any troubles …?

But they all knew the answer to that: because he cared. And all they could do was to trust him to do the right thing.

"… Nami?"

"Huh?" she asked, pulled out of her thoughts. "Oh, yeah, let's go back. Chopper, will you get Robin?"

"Alright!" the little reindeer answered, changed to running point and hurried off in the direction of the bookstore, ignoring the various bewildered glances.

"Let's go …" Usopp said, and Nami nodded. It was then that she was tugged at her sleeve, and she turned around in utter annoyance.

Ahead of her was a small woman. Her hair was completely white, just like snow, with her expression almost unrecognisable because of all the crater-like wrinkles. An odd charm dangled from around her neck, almost looking like a piece of bone. She looked like she was more than a hundred years old, and involuntarily, Nami shuddered.

"What's it?" she asked impatiently. Really, she had absolutely no time for strange random odd-looking people to stand in her way at the moment. Besides, she hated being tugged at the sleeve by strangers.

"I just wondered …" the woman croaked in a hoarse voice that somehow reminded the navigator of a crow. "I think you'll like this," she then smiled, a contortion of her face which looked really creepy to Nami, and pulled a small flask out of nowhere. It had the shape of a globe, with a rising in the middle where it was corked, and the liquid in there was colourless and translucent like water. It didn't seem interesting, and creepy or not, Nami didn't have time for this as Usopp started tapping a foot and eyeing her nervously.

"Out of my way, old hag! That's just water!" she said rather harshly, trying to push her aside to get past her and return to the ship. She sure didn't mean it, her annoyance was rather because of her nervousness and anxiety, together with worry for her nakama being chased by Marines.

However, the woman did not like being treated this way. With an outburst that resembled a fierce battle-cry, she jumped up with almost light speed, uncorked the flask and shoved it between Nami's slightly gaping lips.

The navigator made a startled noise as she was taken by surprise that way, pulling her hands up, but the old woman already forced her to gulp down the liquid that spilled into her mouth by yanking her head back at her hair.

"This will show you it's pathetic to rely on your own good looks and treating people like shit!" she whispered in her ear.

"Hey!" Usopp shouted, slowly realising what was happening, "What the heck are you doing?"

But the woman had already completed her task and giggled as she ran away at a speed one wouldn't have thought her capable of. In no time, she reached the next corner and disappeared behind it.

Usopp stared after her incredulously before he remembered the state of his companion. "Nami, are you okay?" he asked and eyed her worriedly.

Nami blinked. She took the now empty flask out of her mouth, then grabbed her throat with one hand, and gulped.

"Nami?" her long-nosed nakama questioned and took her by the wrist. "Everything okay? Oh God, was that poison?"

"Not … helpful," Nami gasped out while at the same time fighting the huge clot of fear in her stomach pit. She felt nothing … except that fear, that is. But otherwise, she felt perfectly okay.

"We need to get Chopper back …" Usopp said, but Nami shook her head. "He can't do anything now. We need to get to the ship, remember? He can just as well look after me there." Her voice trembled, but she had to assure herself that she was okay. There was no reason for poisoning someone on the street because he had been rude. That just wasn't possible, she had to convince herself.

"Are you sure?" Usopp asked worriedly, but she just took her wrist out of his grasp and made a few steps in the direction of the Sunny.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I feel nothing. Just come, I don't wanna get caught," she said brusquely and stuffed the flask into her pocket.

Usopp nodded, still unsure. It was his nature to worry, and now he worried about the worst case … of it being poison and slowly starting to corrode her from inside.

"You coming?" she asked impatiently, waving at him, and he went after her.

His worries, however, went with him.

* * *

"We need to hurry, are you sure you're okay?" Usopp asked the umpteenth time while running on top of his lungs. Nami's patience was worn thin by that time, and besides, she didn't want to worry about that just now while they had other problems.

"Shut up and run!" she thus growled breathlessly, pulling him at his thin wrist.

"Hey, I'm just worrying about you, no need to be pissed!" he answered, but Nami just huffed in response.

"Yeah, and that's all you're good for, damn pessimistic idiot!"

Usopp almost stopped in surprise. "What?" he asked, convinced to have misunderstood her. Sure, she was feisty and edgy and all, but she never insulted them out of the blue. Running beside her, he looked at her face.

As if she just realised something, she blushed furiously, and her eyes widened in shock. "Did I really say that?" she asked, but the hurt look on his tanned face told her that yes, she had said that out loud. "God, I'm so sorry!" she muttered and cast the sharpshooter an excusing glance. "I really, really didn't mean that …"

He said nothing more on their run towards the ship, and she was too busy with searching for her reason, besides being embarrassed and sorry.

* * *

Back on the ship, they were hastily greeted by Franky who helped Brook with setting sails. The skeleton climbed around in the rigging, untying the straps that held the sails up. "Nami-neechan! Usopp-bro! Weren't you with Chopper and Robin?" the cyborg called while starting to fill up the cola barrels they needed for their departure.

"Robin stayed in the bookstore. Chopper's fetching her," she explained. "They should arrive any minute." Franky nodded.

In fact, Nami didn't know how long that incident at the market had taken them, together with their standing there in shock. She stayed at the railing, propping herself up and tapping her fingers on the wood nervously.

Within the next minute, she recognised two figures running towards them. "There they are!" she shouted. "Usopp, please prepare the cannons."

She didn't turn around to notice a bewildered sniper's glance – she had actually said "please", and she never did that. However, her remorse for insulting him earlier was still present, and she had inserted the unusual word quite consciously.

Now only their captain, Sanji and Zoro were amiss. "Hurry …" she muttered while Chopper and Robin climbed the ship, staring into the distance. From here, the town seemed perfectly still and peaceful; no shooting, no fighting, no uproar, and she didn't really know what to think of it. Perhaps the fighting was over already … but then, what was its result? If they had won, wouldn't they have been here by now? What did it mean?

She hated this feeling, this uncertainty, but at least it distracted her from her own thoughts. Even if she knew she shouldn't worry about their three strongest fighters, she just couldn't help. Luffy had gone back because he cared about them – and she cared for Luffy, probably more than what was good for her, and at the same time, she was angry at herself for being deliberately stupid.

"Where are they?" a small voice pulled her out of her annoying thoughts, and she sighed angrily.

"Now where should I know that from? Since when am I a soothsayer?"

Chopper flinched at her harsh words, and when she realised she had once more said something she had absolutely not wanted to say, she lowered her head, staring at the little waves that touched the Sunny like they wanted to caress her.

She really needed a break from all that stress now. "I'm sorry, Chopper," she said slowly. "I'm just terribly worried, that's all." The reindeer nodded but kept staring at her.

Really, she needed to rest or she would have eight more enemies by the end of the day – which brought her back to the object of her worries again, and she sighed in annoyance, forcing herself some steps back to not stand here like a complete idiot (or a lovey-dovey girl waiting for her boy to come back).

* * *

"Sanji! Back to the ship!" Luffy yelled, whipping his arm out and sending several Marines against a house wall.

"To the ship, marimo!" his order was repeated, and an unnerved cook grabbed his swordsman crewmate by the wrist.

"I can walk alone, curly brow!" said swordsman growled, but Sanji didn't let go and just started to pull Zoro with him.

"You'll just get lost. I know you by now," he informed him.

Luffy was already ahead of them, cleaning their way like a battering ram and sending all Marines standing in their way flying. Since they had a base established in this town, their number doubled with every minute; it seemed almost like a hydra – get rid of one, and two will take his place. It seemed that with every Marine they finished off, two others came and started to attack them fiercely and with incredible persistence. Luffy knew as well as his two fellow fighters that they couldn't stand up to them much longer. He hadn't known the Marine base was that large on this little island, and he just hoped that the others had gotten to the ship without any trouble, and that they were already preparing their departure.

"Left, idiot!" he heard Sanji call from somewhere behind him, and turned to see him dragging Zoro along, who obviously wanted to take the wrong direction. Luffy ran on, seeing the Marines coming after them, and gritted his teeth. Only two more roads to pass and they'd see the harbour.

Just in this moment, another troop of Marines jumped into their way with drawn guns. Luffy skidded to a halt and blew himself up, doing his Gomu Gomu no Fuusen move, efficiently catching the bullets and reflecting them right back to the shooters. A general cry arose from the bunch of fighters, and Luffy took the opportunity to race through, Sanji and Zoro right on his heels.

There was the Sunny, sails already set, and the rubber boy took a deep breath. "UP THE ANCHOR!" he cried as loud as he could, then stretched his arm backwards, wrapping it around his two nakama. The other arm was shot out to the ship, and when he got a grip onto the railing, he gave in to his arm's urge to shrink to its normal size and propelled them all towards the Sunny. He heard Sanji's yelp and Zoro's surprised grunt as he seized them both, but it didn't matter anyway – they were already flying in the ship's direction, and it was coming closer and closer (or so it seemed).

He couldn't control exactly where he was flying to – that was the problem that always emerged when he did this. But this was a relatively desperate situation anyways, so surely Franky would forgive him for smashing right into the cabin's door …

The second he reconciled with the idea of flying right into the door, it opened.

And the last thing he could remember was Nami's wide-eyed glance as she gaped at her captain (with two extra appendages) approaching her high-speed.

… _Oh crap. _

The loud crashing sound, combined with the piercing shriek, could be heard all around the harbour.

* * *

**Author's note:** Merry Christmas everyone! I'm currently enjoying my new Chopper figure a friend gave me as a present when we played Secret Santa in the Theatre Group, it's so incredibly cute and I could spend my whole day just looking at it. He has a Rumble Ball in his hoof and looks very grim, and Chopper looking grim is just so sweet … know what I mean?


	2. The Devil Raises Its Ugly Head

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One Piece.**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Devil Raises Its Ugly Head**

"You damn stupid idiot!"

"Oww! Nami, what was that for?"

"For your incredible stupidity, dumbhead!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I can't predict where I'll land if I do that …"

"Then you shouldn't have done it in the first place!"

"But Nami! We were pursued!"

"Shut the hell up!" She knew she was being unfair, but the fact that she had a slight brain concussion now was all thanks to that rubber-headed idiot she called her captain. Feelings for him aside, she was angry now. And that was never good – for her environment.

"I thought I'd just crash into the door, I didn't know you were in there …" Luffy tried to defend himself as he ducked away from her fist aiming at him. But defending against Nami was just useless when she was in _that_ mood.

"You should've knocked her unconscious," Zoro grumbled from aside. "Then she'd at least be silent now."

"WHAT WAS THAT?" the furious navigator yelled and her whole rage now unloaded on the poor swordsman, who did his best to evade the girl's manifestations of wrath – namely, her punches. He did not succeed in doing so, though. The mysterious secret of why Nami, as one of the crew's weakest members, can have such an effect on even Luffy and Zoro, will probably never be solved.

Luffy reached out one hand, and for a split second, it seemed like he wanted to help his hapless nakama. But then he thought better of it – and cut it out.

However, when Nami was finished with the lump-littered heap on the floor that had once been Zoro, she turned to Luffy again, and her expression was not any less dangerous compared to how it had been before. Luffy flinched, feeling her devilish glare on him, though he could not see her eyes as they were shadowed by her hair. He knew that expression only too well, and it meant no good for him. He broke out in cold sweat.

"_You_," she said, and he flinched again as he heard all the hate that she put in that one word. She made one step towards him, seizing him by the collar. He had no chance. "You disgusting mockery of a captain!"

Everybody around them went silent within one second. Sure, Nami was daring, cheeky and hot-tempered, and it was definitely not the first time that she had insulted Luffy. On the contrary: she did it quite often, calling him dumbass or idiot or simply stupid. But this, they all sensed, was something completely different.

Luffy stopped struggling and gaped at her as she was looming over him no less threatening. Threatening in a way he could not quite put his finger on. What was she saying?

"Could you please be useful for once?"

She had said things like this on some occasions in the past already. It was nothing new. He didn't hear it for the first time.

But normally, it was accompanied by a resigning sigh, or at least a rolling of her eyes. She would throw her hands up heavenwards as if someone there could help her, and then let it go. She would turn away and forget the matter, whatever it was.

But this …

"Or could you at least try not to be that _damn hindrance that you are?_" She almost cried it, straight in his face, with extra emphasis on the last few words.

Luffy couldn't believe it. Was that really … was she really saying that now? Staring at her, he couldn't move. His body had gone rigid in her grasp, and all he could do was gape at his navigator gone mad.

"Aren't you supposed to be our captain, huh? Aren't you supposed to not lead us in the middle of a Marine base? All you ever do is putting us at risk! You are a risk, and a shame for all existing pirate captains on the oceans!"

_A risk … a shame for all existing pirate captains …_

Now that she raised her head slowly, he could see her eyes, her beautiful eyes. They were covered in hate, pure, simple hate. He had the feeling of suffocating any moment. But at the same time, with a numbing feeling all over his body, he just couldn't believe it. This was not the Nami he knew anymore. Even her eyes seemed darker than usual as she bore her harsh glare deep into his own eyes.

"Nami-swan …" a small voice piped up from behind them. "Aren't you being unfair here?"

She just ignored Sanji, scowling at Luffy with all the hate she could muster, which made him gasp. He really felt like suffocating …

Then, suddenly, she let him go, and there was a sudden radical change in her attitude. Her eyes widening suddenly, she slowly took up one hand and put it on her mouth, gaping at him as if she herself couldn't believe what she had just done. Her shoulders slumped and … were those tears in the corners of her eyes?!

"Oh my God," she breathed almost inaudibly, taking one step back, away from him. "Luffy, I …" Her gaze wandered over their crewmates standing around them as if taking in her environment just now. As if she was awaking from a dream.

"Nami, what are you saying?" an encouraged and infuriated Chopper enquired with a large frown on his face, taking a step forward. "That's not true, and you …" He didn't get to finish his wannabe angry tirade, though. Nami collapsed on the floor, and he went to 'doctor mode' instantly. "Nami!"

* * *

Her fingers wanted to scratch the wood. They wanted to tear something down, to destroy something. And she, she only wanted to jump over the railing and drown. There was nothing better she could do.

What had she thought, saying something like this? Just what the hell had she thought? That wasn't even her real opinion! Of course, there was a bit of truth in that, but never, never had she thought like this, so why …?

She didn't notice the little reindeer next to her, who worriedly examined her. She didn't even notice the tears that came flowing out of her eyes as she slowly lifted them up towards Luffy, who was still frozen in place. His face held no expression, and his large black eyes didn't give him away either. He just stared at her blankly.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean any of that, I don't know where that came from! That's not what I think! I didn't mean that! Please …"

He lowered his head, and because of the midday sun shining from above, she couldn't see his eyes anymore as they were now shadowed by his hat.

"Nami, what the heck is wrong with you?" Usopp asked and cocked his head. Even he wore a frown, and so did all her crewmates. And with a bit of imagination, even Brook was frowning at her (… he has no forehead, you know …).

She couldn't tear her eyes away from Luffy's face, but she heard them. Slowly, she shook her head. "I don't know," she whispered. "Please Luffy, believe me. That's not what I think, you're the best captain in the world …"

She was surprised herself. But as she thought about it, she found that it was really true. Even if he had his little defects, like stupidness, carelessness, stubbornness and absolutely no sense for danger, he really was the best captain she could think of. And the oddest part about this was that she had known that already for a very long time. He had won her heart when he had saved her and her village, and he would always have it.

So, why the hell was she talking such crap?

Luffy still remained silent. She would have loved to hug him now, but she was too shocked. He wouldn't want it anyway, and she could fully understand it.

"Please believe me, Luffy!" she begged, a bit louder this time, and tried to find his eyes in the shadows the sun cast over them.

It seemed an eternity to her until he looked at her, but there were no emotions in his eyes when he did. Then he shrugged as if he was completely careless towards all that had just happened, and just said, "Okay." He turned and walked away casually.

Nevertheless, she couldn't be relieved. She knew it wasn't just "okay", and the carelessness was faked, of this she was pretty sure. This kind of thing … it would need a lot of time to heal, and perhaps he wouldn't ever forget it. She had hurt him.

She swallowed hard as the tears welled up in her eyes anew. "Luffy …" she mumbled and stood up to follow him, but a hand held her back.

"Leave him alone. You hurt him. He needs time to get over that."

She looked at Zoro's harsh expression, then averted her eyes. She knew he was right. She should give him time … but that was hard when all she wanted was to talk to him, to make it right again. It was her fault, and she needed to correct it.

_If there's anything to be corrected … If there's not enough damage already done …_

"Are … are we away from that island?" she asked quietly to break the uncomfortable silence, and Franky nodded. They had used Coup de Burst and were already too far away for the Marines to catch up to them, if they intended to follow them with their ships.

"I'll go and make some maps …" she announced and wanted to go in the direction of the aquarium room, but Chopper stopped her.

"Nami, you've got a brain concussion! You can't just walk out of the infirmary and do as if nothing ever happened! There's something wrong with you …"

"What makes you say that?" she suddenly seethed, turning around in a whirl.

Chopper flinched, but stayed where he was. "You're not as you always are …" he said bravely, his gaze steady as he looked her straight in the eyes, and Nami saw the other crew members nod in agreement.

Seeing her angry expression, Robin stepped forward and laid an arm around her shoulder soothingly. "Come, Nami-san. You have to recover. Who will lead us through the sea if you are incapable of doing so?"

As always, she knew exactly what spots to touch. Nami followed her into the infirmary room willingly, sighing about not knowing what she was saying, about uttering strange things that were not her real opinion, even when it came to Usopp. Now that she thought about it – that had almost been the same situation.

"Robin, am I always that way?" she asked, suddenly scared. What if she was and just didn't notice it?

Robin, however, managed to ease her worries. "Definitely not," she said, and her voice sounded very determined and sure. "You certainly are a bigmouth – I'm sorry to say that so bluntly."

Nami almost flinched – but what had she expected? She knew she wasn't an easy person, and she had asked Robin to say that out loud, so she had to take the consequences.

But Robin hadn't finished yet. "But normally you don't keep on insulting your friends out of the blue. There have already been many situations that have been worse, and still you did not tell Captain-kun that he is a shame for all existing pirate captains," she stated calmly.

Nami winced at the words she had told Luffy just moments ago, and a pang of guilt stabbed her heart. Had she really been that cruel …?

They were in the girls' room by that moment, and Robin motioned for her to sit down on her bed, while she herself did the same on her own one. Nami knew the older woman could just leave her alone now – she was sure she didn't deserve a better treatment. Nevertheless, Robin propped her chin up on her hand and just looked at her questioningly, as if she was waiting for her to go on now.

"Ugh …" Nami uttered and ran her fingers through her short hair, staring at the ground. "Yeah, you're probably right …" was the only thing that occurred to her.

Robin chuckled in her own Robin-like manner. "Of course I am. I think I know you quite well by now, and you're not like this. So, did something happen today? Did you think something special, related to Captain-kun? Or were you experiencing exceptional fears today?"

Nami blushed furiously. She had always suspected Robin to know about her … erm, crush on Luffy, and felt very embarrassed at this moment – despite the fact that this was supposed to be a talk between two grown-up women.

"You don't need to be embarrassed," Robin assured her as if she had read her thoughts. "Please just think of something that has been different today in comparison to the past few days. Perhaps there was something that could lead us to the solution …?"

_With 'solution' she means why I hurt Luffy without any reason … _Nami thought and sighed. "I really don't know. It's not like this situation hadn't happened before …"

Robin nodded thoughtfully. "You mean the situation of Captain-kun being in danger."

Nami shrugged and blushed again. "It wasn't because of this. I really don't know, Robin …"

"Then let us approach this analytically," Robin said. "You are like that since Captain-kun came back …"

"No," Nami interrupted her. "I think … I think, when I insulted Usopp … and later, Chopper, that also counted." She didn't admit this happily. In fact, she was rather embarrassed by the whole situation. Why was Robin so sure it wasn't just her evil personality? Why were they all so sure she had changed and not just given in to her darker side? This side could be inside of anyone. Take Robin, for example …

"Good," Robin took her out of her thoughts. "Then this also counts. But I am convinced you were your usual self when we were in the bookstore. At least, neither of us noticed something unusual about your attitude."

Nami nodded at the older woman's words.

"So, I ask you again. Did something exceptional happen in the time between your departure from the bookstore and your insult towards Usopp-kun?" Robin asked and leaned forward to look her in the eyes questioningly.

"Erm … No, I don't think …" Nami trailed off mid-sentence when she remembered what had _really_ happened today. A cold shiver raced down her spine violently, and she gaped at the floor.

Robin, who noticed the change in Nami's behaviour, cocked her head.

"There was that incident with that old bitch …" Nami muttered and brought one hand up to her mouth thoughtfully. Noticing Robin's puzzled look, she explained it further, "It was when Chopper and I were on the market. Usopp came and told us about the Marines …"

"What did you feel?" Robin interrupted her.

Nami shrugged. She didn't know what Robin intended with that question, but answered it nevertheless. "I felt panic," she admitted. "Worry about Luffy, Sanji and Zoro. And I wanted to run to the ship as fast as possible."

Robin nodded and motioned for her to go on.

"Then I sent Chopper to get you, and then there was this old hag tugging me at my sleeve. She wanted to sell me something, but I told her to go away. I really didn't have time for this. Then she came and attacked me …"

"She attacked you?"

"She jumped up and forced me to drink the thing she'd wanted me to buy. And she said something like I shouldn't rely on my looks while treating people like shit, something like that. Then she was off and we ran to the ship," Nami finished. She couldn't help the bad feeling in her stomach pit, or the stale taste in her mouth. Her heart beat faster in increasing panic, and her eyes widened in realisation. "What … what was that?" she asked quietly.

Robin made a thoughtful face. "That could be our motive," she mused. "Were you harsh towards her when she first approached you?"

Nami gulped. "May-Maybe," she admitted hesitantly. "I was worried, and we didn't have much time, and I was stressed out a great deal. Perhaps I might have been a bit … not-so-polite towards her."

Robin nodded again. "Another motive."

"But just because I called her old hag – which she was – doesn't justify her attacking me! What if it was poison?" Nami flared up. "That's not a reason, you know! You can't go around poisoning people as you please …"

"I don't think it was poison," Robin said calmly and placed her hand on Nami's forearm. "Calm down. We will find that woman and ask her what she did to you."

Nami took a deep breath, then shook her head in despair. "Really, I …" she started but cut herself off when she remembered something. She reached into her pocket and took the empty flask out of it, handing it to the archaeologist. "I took it with me, perhaps it could help …"

Robin smiled. "Chopper-kun will examine it and find out what it was. But stay calm until then. If it was poison, I think you would have noticed something earlier."

"What do you think it is if it isn't poison?" Nami asked and gave Robin a worried glance, who narrowed her blue eyes.

"It could be a curse, who knows?" she replied and stood up, ignoring the younger woman's wincing. "Try to sleep a bit, Nami-san. I am sure you have quite the little headache."

Nami nodded and, for the first time since the incident with Luffy, noticed the pain in her head. "Yeah, I think I'll do that," she mumbled. Really, now that she thought of it, this headache was killing her. She didn't know that slight brain concussions caused so much pain.

Robin gave her another smile. "I will go and give this to our little doctor. I will tell the others to leave you alone, if that is okay for you."

Nami lowered her head as she felt a strange feeling rushing over her. That feeling … rage?

"Yeah, sure. As if you had _friends_ on this ship," she said in a low voice.

Robin stopped, her hand on the doorknob. "Excuse me?" she asked, her eyebrows raised and a bewildered look on her face.

Nami chuckled nastily. "You heard me, Robin," she said and looked up at the older woman. "Do you really think that we are your _friends?_"

Robin frowned, examining the navigator with her eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked calmly.

"I fuckin' mean that you're just an unwanted passenger here! Who would want to be friends with you? You killed people, you're nothing more than a manipulative bitch! Filth on the street we're walking on! How could you …"

Nami was cut off by two hands at her throat. "Ugh …"

* * *

Robin's fists were clenched as she stared at the younger woman with wide eyes.

"Yeah, go on … and … kill me, Robin," Nami choked out, the evil grin never leaving her face despite the clearly pained and angered look in the archaeologist's eyes – and the two hands that gagged her. "Kill … me … like you … always do!"

Robin gritted her teeth and just stared for several moments. Then, with a start, she broke away, both physically and mentally. Nami coughed as Robin let the two hands disappear in a whirl of flower petals, and the black-haired woman hurried to get out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her back.

Outside, she leaned against it and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. How could this have happened? With a few well-placed words, the navigator had managed to make her lose her composure. That didn't happen very frequently. And even if she had known that there was something wrong with her nakama, she had been caught by surprise. That shouldn't have happened, Robin thought as she slowly unclenched her fists by her sides.

"Robin?" someone said hesitantly, and her head jerked up. The whole crew had gathered in front of the door, but with another glance, she noticed that Luffy wasn't here.

Six pairs of eyes were directed at her in anticipation, and she took another deep breath before slowly saying, "There is something seriously wrong here. We need to find the old witch before something really bad happens."

* * *

**Author's note: **Whoa! Robin lost her composure! Now that's something I really don't want to witness. And that's just the beginning …

Aww, I feel so sorry for poor Luffy. But I fear that's just the beginning, too … (Don't be surprised, this is a Hurt/Comfort after all.)


	3. The Devil Inside Her

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece.**  
**

**Author's note: **Just imagine that witch-monologue in the end like when Gollum speaks with himself in _Lord of the Rings_, because I did, and it was funny^^

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Devil Inside Her**

"Are you sure you'll recognise her?"

"Of course!" Usopp affirmed, sending Sanji an ungracious glance. "I'm absolutely positive there's no other like that …" He shuddered when he recalled the crow-ish facial features of the old woman who had given Nami that fluid.

By this time, Chopper had already examined thoroughly what was left of it in the flask Robin had given him, saying it was nothing he knew, but definitely not poison. He had said it could be made with an extract from a plant growing on this island, and had chosen the archaeologist to go with him to look for this plant. The rest of the crew had agreed on searching the woman to ask her what she had done to their navigator – or, if she wouldn't cooperate, "beat the shit out of her" – using Sanji's words.

The cook was not at all pleased that someone had done something to his precious Nami-swan, and he would do all he could to find the culprit and do what had to be done, even if it was an old hag. Usopp's description of her, after all, fitted a scaly withered monster from the deepest depths of the earth better than it fitted an innocent old lady, and Sanji certainly wouldn't mind finishing off a monster that meant harm to one of his ladies.

Perhaps she would see him as her knight in shining armour, if he did succeed, and reward him with a kiss … The thought let the cook blush and wriggle around a bit, fluting "Melloriiine!" almost inaudibly.

Which educed a contemptuous "Tsk!" from Zoro, who, of course, had heard that.

After Robin had told them what Nami had said, Usopp had face palmed immediately for having forgotten about this important matter. He should have told Chopper straight then, but after all the ruckus and troubles and Marines, he had completely forgotten to mention it.

They had all been bewildered and incredulous at first, but after Robin had assured them that she was dead serious, she had managed to convince them to go back to that island again and search for that woman.

At this, the fact that Nami was out of her room again helped a lot. As they watched her apologising to Robin as if she had done something totally unforgivable, almost begging her on her knees, they saw the desperation in her face and swore as one to kill that bitch. This was Nami, after all. And Nami usually didn't lower herself as far as this. Hell, had she even apologised for something to one of them in her whole time on this ship?

And even if Robin said it was perfectly okay and she wasn't offended, they knew something strange had happened between the two. Which was rather disturbing, because they usually did behave as if they were some kind of sisters.

Convincing their captain, however, had not been quite so easy.

"Luffy," Chopper said quietly from behind where his captain was sitting on the Sunny's figurehead. "We have to go and find somebody. We have to go back."

Luffy didn't answer at first, and Chopper almost thought he would stay like this. He hadn't picked up on all the ruckus that had been going on since he had withdrawn to his favourite place, and so he knew nothing about Nami's condition or Robin's explanation.

"Why?" he then said casually, almost boredly even, and continued to stare at the horizon.

"We have to find that person for Nami," Chopper explained. "She –"

Luffy jerked his head around and gave him such a furious look that the small reindeer winced back. "Why does Nami want to find somebody? To insult him?"

The doctor gaped at his captain. He had never seen him so angry at one of his crewmates – save that incident with Usopp, of course, thinking about which brought tears into his eyes even today. But now, Luffy didn't only look angry. He looked – hurt.

"Luffy, we need to find that person. She bewitched Nami! We have to find her before something bad happens!" Chopper tried to persuade him. "We have to turn the ship before it is too late and we don't see the island anymore …"

"There's danger there," Luffy answered calmly. "Why should we? And who bewitched Nami? That's crap, isn't it? Did she tell you that?"

"No! I saw the flask, it's real!" Chopper exclaimed desperately, shocked at the fact that Luffy was just about to accuse Nami of lying. "We have to go back and –"

This time, he was cut off by Robin's hand on his shoulder, and stared up at her with his large dark eyes. The archaeologist smiled at him and patted his shoulder before turning to Luffy. "He is right, Captain," she said calmly. "This is not a lie. Usopp-kun also witnessed it."

Luffy finally turned his head and gave her a frown. She took this as a sign that he was listening at last, and went on. "He said that woman forced her to drink some liquid. We suppose that this is the reason for her changing."

"Her changing?" Luffy asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him. "What woman?"

Now they had him. "She is like this since that incident. You are probably the third person to be treated with scorn, and from how she acts afterwards, she seems to have no control over herself at these times. She did not mean what she said to you, because she was not master of her own tongue then."

Luffy looked a bit doubtful. "It was really nasty of her!" he pouted, and Robin chuckled at his child-like expression.

"Look, Captain. She cannot control what she says, and is very distressed about what she said to you. Can you imagine how that must be?" she said calmly and saw Luffy swallow hard. She always knew what buttons to push, time and her knowledge of her crewmates had taught her this. "We really have to go back to this island and ask that old woman what she did to our navigator."

Luffy's face darkened at her words, and he slowly took his hand up to adjust the strawhat on his head. When he looked at Robin and Chopper, they saw the usual determination in his black eyes. He jumped off the figurehead.

"Let's kick her ass!"

* * *

They docked at the uninhabited back of the island, having rounded it in the distance, and fortunately, nobody noticed the small ship's approaching. Apparently the Marines did not expect them to come back again, and why should they? Even though they had left behind quite the chaos, they had been in a pretty mess themselves, and the island held no treasure or other things that pirates could be wanting to risk their lives for.

In the forest, Chopper and Robin said their goodbyes, for they were to look there for the mysterious plant, if there was any. The others, they had agreed, would split up into two groups, since that was more effective and, more important, Nami was to be with one group.

She had offered to guard the ship while they were away, and everyone had looked at her as if she were completely mad now. It was disturbing, seeing her so desperate. Nami would have never offered to stay back and guard the ship – alone. And even if not few of the crew members had the thought that this new Nami was definitely nicer than usual – save her ranting outbreaks –, it was still so not Nami-like in a disturbing way.

But she had to go with one of the groups, because only she and Usopp knew for whom they were looking. So, Zoro was to stay behind, a task he not really objected to, and the others began their way through the forest.

And it started all over.

"Idiot cyborg, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Franky sighed.

"Even your style of clothing is less than acceptable! It's less than less! It's … disgusting! Disgusting pervert!"

"Nami-neechan, you should know that's a compliment for me," the blue-haired man grinned.

"Killing your own father in a way, that's even more disgusting!"

"Ouch …" he muttered but bit back the manly tears that wanted to escape. No, he wouldn't cry, not because of a stupid curse. No, he wouldn't cry. He wouldn't … "Waaaahahaaaaa!"

"That was below the belt, Nami-san," Brook pointed out, which made the girl now turn to him.

"Oh, speaking of wrong, here we have the perfect example! You … monstrosity!"

"Yohohohohoho!" the skeleton laughed. "I suppose you're right."

"Something like you shouldn't exist! You're like a nightmare! And your stupid jokes are even worse!" Nami's angry expression made it hard to believe that she really didn't mean the things she said.

"I'm doing my best, yoho! With all my heart!" he grinned (skeletons always grin). "But, by the way, I don't even have a heart! Yohohohohoho!"

"Hopeless case! I bet you don't even have a brain!"

Everyone held his breath. Would Brook succumb to the navigator's evil tongue?

"Yohohohohoho! Touché! 45 degrees!"

The crew sweatdropped as the skeleton leaned to a tree head first. "Guess we have a winner …" Usopp mumbled. It was as good as decided that Sanji would definitely accompany Nami, because no matter how much or with what she insulted him, he would always just woo her even more. There was no chance that Nami would succeed in making Sanji miserable. She could even hit him, and he would come back for more. As he himself once put it: He was a slave to love.

And now it seemed like Brook would be their number three.

Luffy threw a glance back at Franky, who was still sobbing (very manly), then at Nami, who was back to normal in the meantime and very shocked, desperately apologising to the sniffling cyborg, and clenched his fists. He would _so_ kick that witch's ass. This was unforgivable. How did she dare doing such a thing to his navigator and the rest of his crew? They all suffered, and if this curse wouldn't just vanish at midnight, he saw a lot more suffering to come.

Once they were in the town, they tried their best to maintain a low profile, so as not to draw the Marine's attention. All would have been for nothing if they found them now, so they used small alleyways and avoided larger crowds until they were at the exact spot where all had happened earlier that day.

"So, we go that way and you go that way," Usopp said, pointing at the two opposite directions of the market street. "Perhaps she owns a shop somewhere in here, so don't forget to look into the stores."

"As if you could decide that, idiot! Wake up, you're not the captain!"

Usopp sighed and turned in the direction he had designated for the three of them. Franky and Luffy followed him.

"Cowards! Are you trying to hide from me? Did your balls fall off or what?"

Luffy held his head down as he tried to block her voice out, which was rather difficult due to two facts. Firstly, because she was almost shouting after them. And secondly … because he had always liked her voice. He had always liked to listen to her when she explained something, or told stories. Nami could be a great storyteller when she was in the mood, and when her listeners didn't interrupt her all too much.

Narrowing his eyes, he suddenly stopped and turned around again to where the other three were still standing. He just felt like …

"Luffy, what –?"

Ignoring Usopp, he turned in a quick sprint towards his raging navigator. On his way back, he unfastened the string of his hat and took it in one hand.

"You idiot! You'll get the Marine's attention if you continue like that! Are you trying to kill us all?" she greeted him with a hiss.

"No, not really, and that's why …" And with this, he put his strawhat on her head, giving her a little smile. He could only guess how hard it was for her, saying things she didn't want to, but he knew that if it was only half as hard for her as it was for him, it was almost unbearable.

Was it only his imagination, or did the darkness in her gaze really retreat for one moment when he looked into her eyes?

His hand lingering on the hat on her head for one more second, he turned around and spurted back to his two waiting nakama.

"You wait! I'm not done with you!" she yelled after him.

… _I guess so. _

* * *

"God, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry …"

"Nami-swan, don't be stressed out. You are not responsible for what has been said."

She gave Sanji a distressed, watery-eyed look. "But it was me who said it! I'm so sorry …"

This caused Sanji to start noodling around, "Nami-swaaan, you can call me whatever you like, I will always be your knight in shining armour …"

Nami couldn't help but smile at the cook's antics. "Come on, we have to find that witch," she said, leading the two in their direction.

In reality, she was deeply frightened. She had noticed that her 'fits' now occurred in closer and closer intervals, and was scared like hell. What if she ended up being a fit-throwing bitch that insulted her comrades nonstop? Could they even take more of it? She doubted it, and, to be honest, she didn't want them to. They didn't deserve any of that, and if that would ever be the case, she should convince them to drop her on some lonely island.

_If I'll have enough of my personality left then …_ she thought, which brought tears into her eyes. She didn't want to lose her personality, that would be like dying, and she didn't want to die, not like this.

She felt an iron hand grasp her heart and clench it tightly when her hand went up to touch the strawhat on her head. No, she didn't want to leave Luffy and her nakama, it was like she had just found them, she would not give that up so soon, not because of an evil bitch who felt like killing her just because she had been rude because she had been stressed out because her nakama had been pursued by Marines. _Everyone_ would have been rude at that time! That witch did not understand a thing!

_Relying on looks my ass_, she thought dryly, but then her gaze drifted off to the blond next to her, and she felt a pinch of guilt. She should remember to be nicer to him … but that required the removal of the curse, because if she was stuck with this, she would probably never get the opportunity to be nice again.

"Nami-swan, are you okay?"

Her view darkened.

_No, not again!_

"Care for your own health, blond bastard!"

* * *

_Behind the corner of a house, just within earshot …_

The old woman chuckled as she observed the girl's angry outburst. She enjoyed it with all her wrinkled, stony heart. Youth brought to fall … really, these teens needed to be reminded of where their place was.

She could see the despair in her eyes before she changed, and a nasty chuckle left her dry lips. She knew that the girl was now fully aware of what was happening with her, and of course she must have noticed that the changes were increasing. Soon there was nothing to be left of her character, just this damned beautiful face contorted by hate, until someone broke the curse. And that, she had made sure, would never happen.

"A kiss from her true love, eh?" she said to herself when she left towards an unknown destination. "You surpassed yourself with that idea, fufu. Who would possibly kiss someone with that attitude? Except that blond," she added thoughtfully, then put it off with a wave of her old wrinkled hand.

"As if he were her true love! It can be seen from one hundred miles away that he's not. No, he's not," she reassured herself.

"And just in case she finds that person … Good luck! Seeing him despise you, that must be even worse, but then again, you won't be yourself at that point anymore anyway …"

Her laughter echoed in the narrow alleyway long after she was gone.

* * *

**Author's note:** Yeah, I know. Usopp, King of Liars, as the evidence that Nami's not lying. Irony in itself. (just stumbled over that)

I really wonder whether "Brook" and "thinking" combined in one sentence is a Skull Joke. He _has_ no brain after all, hasn't he?

And, well. You should all know where I'm heading now, but I hope that doesn't take the 'mystery factor' you all seem to appreciate out of the story ;-)


	4. The Devil Spreads Its Wings

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece.**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Devil Spreads Its Wings**

"And you really think you're gonna be the world's best swordsman?"

Zoro rolled his eyes. It had only been a matter of time until their orange-haired problem child would pick on him, and to be honest, he had been curious what she had to say to him. But this, this was just uncreative.

"You're not gonna break my determination by telling me stupid things like that," he informed her and folded his arms behind his head, ready to take a nap. He had trained for the whole afternoon and needed some sleep now. But did that girl get it? No, of course not. Or, in the state she was in at the moment, she would probably have been glad had she known it, glad and endeavouring to disturb his sleeping time.

"I saw Mihawk slicing you up like a loaf of bread," she went on, a mischievous smile on her usually so pretty face. "You couldn't defeat him back then, you can't defeat him now, and you won't ever defeat him in the future. You're way too weak, Roronoa Zoro."

Zoro furrowed his brows. Once again he had to remind himself that _this was not Nami_. She would have never called him by his whole name. It was things like this which told him to restrain, to keep calm until this – whatever it was – was over.

"Weather witch, you haven't seen that fight. You were busy capturing our ship and snitching our treasure to give it to that Arlong guy." He watched her closely, as if mentioning that name would take her back to normal, but there wasn't even a spark in her eyes that showed her reaction to his words. "Besides, if I am weak, what are you, then?"

He knew all too well that this wouldn't bring him any closer to victory in that discussion. It wasn't even a discussion.

"Oh, insulting a woman now, are we?" she seethed. "I'm calling love-cook to give you a good beating. Probably even he could defeat you …"

Zoro didn't listen anymore, but he couldn't sleep neither. "Thank you, weather witch," he murmured and got up slowly, leaving the ranting navigator behind. He definitely should get some booze now or he would do something very rash, having had not enough sleep. It was so easy to forget that it was this curse speaking, not her. And even if she was a woman he wouldn't have any problems with punching her right in the face … if it continued like this.

They hadn't found that old woman on the island, even after five days of search. And each day, it got worse. Nami's moments when she was herself grew fewer and fewer, and even if nobody said it aloud, they all feared that they would lose their navigator – for good.

_And then what?_ Zoro thought as he made his way to the galley. _If she stays on the ship we're all gonna freak out._

It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it wasn't the first time he had had it. Robin tried to comfort them by saying it could be temporary, that it could be over anytime, after a week, a month, a year, and they'd get her back as her old self.

But Zoro didn't quite believe in that. Sure, he wanted to, that was for certain. He wasn't eager to lose a nakama either, but he knew something had to be done. To have to stand this for a year … God, a week hadn't even passed and the crew was on their last legs. Usopp shivered whenever he saw a flash of orange, Chopper had barricaded himself in the infirmary and whoever went past it only heard strange sounds that sounded suspiciously like sobbing, Franky didn't leave the ship's hull except for eating (drinking, in his case), and even Robin avoided Nami as good as she could, given the limited space of the ship they were on. She tried to sound confident, though, but slowly the signs of exhaustion showed on her face. The only ones relatively okay with the situation were Sanji and Brook, Sanji being his normal self and Brook not being affected a bit.

But the one about whom Zoro worried most was their captain. Ever since the matter had been explained to him, his face had been lined with the same grim determination he always had when some evil enemy was in the running. They knew it all too well, and were it the only thing that had changed with him, Zoro would have been fine.

But it wasn't.

Since the first unsuccessful day of their search, his aura had grown more and more gloomy. He had stopped stealing their food at dinner, he had stopped calling Sanji for food every ten minutes, and he had stopped playing around with Chopper and Usopp.

In short, he had stopped being himself, being the stupid idiot captain they all loved, and if he wasn't out there looking for the witch, he just sat on Sunny's head, his strawhat shadowing his eyes, being silent.

Zoro knew what the rubber boy was thinking; it was probably the same thing that was running through his own mind at the moment. But as he contemplated things out of the comfortable position of a crew member, even though being First Mate, Luffy had to think about everything from a captain's perspective. And that, the green-haired swordsman was afraid, had to be one thousand times worse.

And to make matters worse, Zoro knew about him having a thing for Nami. He knew it ever since he knew them both, and he knew it was vice versa, too. And that really didn't help one thing; quite on the contrary. It made everything just so much worse.

Letting out a deep sigh, he pushed the galley door open and made his way inside the room, wondering about why it was so dark in here. Shouldn't a certain cook stand here, preparing drinks and snacks for his 'lovely ladies'?

Shrugging, Zoro went to the cabin where he knew his desired alcohol was stored, grabbed one large bottle of sake, and closed the door without even thinking of taking a glass. On his way out of the galley, he uncorked the bottle and was just about to set it on his lips – he could almost feel the liquid burning its way down his throat –, when he heard a strange sound from the darkness where the table stood.

Zoro halted, bottle still raised, and turned his head towards where the noise had come from. It sounded like a wounded little animal, but what …?

Then, his hesitant steps in that direction made him see clearer. There, slumped over the wooden surface of the table, sat a miserable-looking figure, and were it not for the blond hair peeking out of all that blackness, he would have never recognised the ship's cook.

Zoro stopped. "Uh, Sanji?" he called out quietly, careful not to scare the cook in case he was sleeping. The bundle on the table moved and made another of these strange sounds, and Zoro realised that Sanji was sobbing, which was disturbing enough, let alone the fact that he knew Zoro was there and didn't even give a damn about it.

The swordsman swallowed hard. So it had come to this – just when he had been glad that at least two persons on this darn ship didn't show signs of impact in front of their navigator-gone-mad. At least this once he had been happy with the cook's everlasting infatuation …

Slowly, he made his way towards the table and took a seat next to that slumped heap that had once been their cook. When Sanji raised his face from his arms, the swordsman was startled at how devastated he looked, his eyes puffy and swollen, with dark shadows underneath, his cheeks flushed in an unhealthy way and his hair the dishevelled mess he knew love-cook would never allow it to be.

Without saying a word, he reached his bottle over to Sanji and leaned back when the blond took it reluctantly and brought it up to his dry lips to take a good swig.

They had to do something about Nami, and quickly.

* * *

"Luffy."

The strawhat-wearing boy showed no sign of attention. He just sat on the lion's head and stared out to where the sea extended seemingly endlessly like he did all day as long as he was on the ship, cross-legged and with his arms folded in front of his chest.

"Luffy, I know you hear me. Listen, I don't have much time."

This, however, made him turn around slowly, eyeing his navigator warily as she stood in front of him, eyes wide and beautiful for once, and he knew immediately that it was herself speaking, not the curse. He couldn't help his throat going tight all at once, seeing the expression she wore. She looked so incredibly sad it hurt him deep inside his heart, and yet … very determined. Slowly he climbed down the figurehead until his feet touched the wooden ground again.

"I'd like to amplify this story and stuff, but I don't know how long I can tell you this," she started, her eyes meeting his in a firm and steady gaze. She was talking very fast and seemed scampered – understandable.

"So I'll just tell you. Luffy, you have to get rid of me." Her beautiful brown eyes bored into his.

His ears rang with what she had just said. It went through his head over and over again, her expression when saying it, the tone of her voice, the way the wind blew through her short hair and the way the evening sun gave it a red glow. And this utterance of hers. It whirled around in his mind, and yet he didn't understand it. It was there, and yet his mind seemed blank, wiped out, unable to comprehend these words she was saying.

"Luffy!" she exclaimed, made two quick steps and grasped his wrists. "Do you understand me?"

"No," he said without thinking. His voice didn't sound like his, it was raspy and rough. "No, Nami."

"Yes! Yes, you have to! Drop me on some uninhabited island on the way, bring me into some jungle, or just throw me over the railing, I don't care! But you have to do something, or God knows where this is leading!" she blurted out.

"No!" he repeated, and to him, it sounded like the pained cry of a hurt animal.

"Luffy!" she said again, intense, and he saw tears welling up in her eyes. "Something has to be done. I want you to do this before I'm changing for good. I'm dying, Luffy," she told him and let go of his left wrist to take her hand up to cup his cheek. "I'm dying. Soon there will be nothing left of me, and –"

"No!" he interrupted her fiercely and his face darkened. "I won't! It's temporary, I know it is! We all know it! You'll change back and everything will be fine!"

A sad little smile spread on her face, lighting her face up. Luffy swallowed. He wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't. Just this moment, her lovely face with that lovely smile, he didn't want to miss anything of it. It was so precious. He didn't want to lose it,_ ever_.

"Luffy," she said, her voice soft all of a sudden. "You can't just let me be here and hope it's gonna be gone someday. You just can't. Until that day, if it would ever come, you'll all have gone nuts."

"But I can't abandon you somewhere! I wouldn't betray a nakama, never! I wouldn't betray one of you, and I wouldn't betray _you!_" He almost shouted it, and Nami flinched a bit. Could it be …? No, probably not. He was just freaked out.

"Please!" she pleaded, and a single tear made its way down her flushed cheek. "Please just end this! You're all suffering, and I don't want you to suffer, not because of anything in the world and especially not because of me! _You have to end this, Luffy_," she said insistently, looking him straight in his deep black eyes as her right thumb slowly caressed the soft skin of his cheek on its own.

"But … I can't," he whispered and felt his eyes burning as he looked at her. "You're my navigator, who's gonna lead us through storms if we don't have you?" He couldn't prevent his voice from breaking at the last word. The lump in his throat grew bigger and bigger, threatening to suffocate him.

She closed her eyes, that sad smile still slightly curving her mouth upwards. "You'll find another," she said calmly. "There are so many navigators on the Grand Line, you'll find one who's worthy going with the future Pirate King and ..."

"I don't want any other navigator than you!" Luffy released all his emotions in a yell. He felt the tears streaming down his face, but he couldn't care less. All he cared for was right in front of him. He wouldn't lose her, not again, and not as long as he lived. He jerked his wrist free of her hand still clutching it and took her tear-stained face in both of his hands. Her eyes stared at him widely, he could drown in those beautiful auburn eyes.

"I want you, Nami, not anyone else," he said slowly, carefully pronouncing every word. "I only want you."

Her eyes grew even wider by hearing this, and he knew he could have added "to be my navigator", but he meant it like this. He realised it was right. Just now he really discovered what she meant to him – too much to put into words.

"Luffy …" she whispered almost inaudibly as he bent down slowly. He had not the slightest clue what to do now, so he decided to just follow the lead of his body. His heart pounded like mad, and he had an idea that it wasn't just from fear of losing her. Her face came nearer and nearer and he saw her closing her eyes, almost wanting to say to her to open them again so he could enjoy that colour a bit more.

His own eyes, too, fluttered closed bit by bit as her mouth came nearer, her lips parted ever so slightly, and he could feel her breath touching his skin in the most delicate way. He accepted what would happen next, accepted it with his arms wide open. And then …

"Idiot!"

He stilled and opened his eyes. Their faces were only inches apart and he could still feel her breath on his skin, but there was something different.

"As if I'd do that," she said in a disgusted tone. "Did you really think I'd kiss you? Dream on, stupid! Stop taking advantage of me!"

Her eyes were open, and they were full of hatred.

_No!_ the voice in his head screamed wildly, _No! No no no no …_

He didn't want to let her go and one part of his mind told him to hug her and hold her there until she changed back, until it was over, and it would be over, once and for all.

But it was too late.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" Nami screeched and slapped them away from her face. "Pervert! Bastard! Idiot!" she ranted and turned on her heel, not without having cast him an extremely furious glance.

Luffy stood there and watched her storm off, screaming something at Usopp on her way.

Then he sagged to his knees helplessly, his hands catching his fall when he touched the ground. Emotionless, he watched the dark stains that were his tears spreading out on the light wooden floor of the Sunny.

* * *

Robin turned her head away. She couldn't watch this anymore. Something had to be done, and she knew it would break Luffy's heart to do it himself.

Closing her eyes, the black-haired archaeologist took a deep breath.

It was a good thing their captain had a crew on which he could rely for better or for worse. She was determined to do anything she could to help him carrying this burden … even if that meant earning everybody's loathing.

* * *

**Author's note:** You didn't really think I'd let them do it, did you? Naaah! The story would be over if I'd let them :-P

Oh, and you understood Robin's thoughts, yes?

I quite liked Sanji's breakdown. That means, no, I don't like making people suffer, but I liked the idea of Zoro silently standing by his side. These two don't only fight the whole day, even if it seems so after having read too many fanfics ;-)

But I felt so, so, _so_ bad, writing Luffy's scene. Poor Luffy, I'd like to write Nami in his arms and making him happy so badly …


	5. Defeat of the Devil

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece. Holy Oda does.**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Defeat of the Devil**

"Robin!"

The black-haired archaeologist turned her head towards the person in the doorway. She had known that day would come, but at the same time, she had feared it. "Alright," she sighed and slapped her book about ancient cultures in the East Blue region shut, then raised her head. "What is it, Nami-san?"

The orange-haired woman's face looked grey, even in the fading light of the day and with the last sunrays painting everything in a beautiful, warm orange light. Her eyes, though not as dark as had come to be usual in these days, had lost their shine. She looked terribly exhausted, a picture with which she fit in to the rest of the crew. Sanji was just a mess, Usopp and Chopper were nowhere to be seen, Franky's quiff of hair, if he showed his face outside of the ship's hull at all, was drooping constantly like if he was running short of cola, Brook only played sad songs or hung his head, and even Zoro started to show signs of tiredness.

Of course, the worst was Luffy. He hadn't left his favourite spot at Sunny's head and refused to do anything but staring out at the sea while they had departed from the island. Robin had assumed it would take them a lot of persuasiveness to talk him into leaving, but he hadn't objected. In fact, he hadn't talked at all, and it scared the calm woman out of her wits. Soon it would be too late – if it wasn't too late already. The fact that he hadn't said anything to their leaving the island – and with it, one of their scarce hopes to return their navigator to her normal state – made her worry a great deal. He had given up hope, hadn't he?

Nami let out a deep long sigh. "Listen Robin, I know you're up to something." Her gaze bored deep into Robin's own eyes, the determination inside them sending a violent shiver over the woman's back.

"Please … just do it fast, okay?"

"Nami …" Robin said in her usual calmness, but Nami interrupted her by raising her hand.

"No, please. I don't know what you planned, but just do it. I know it's selfish of me, but … could you kill me?"

Robin's heart almost stopped. "N-No! I, I mean, yes, it is! I would never … I couldn't … I …"

Nami smiled for a short moment. "Never thought I'd hear you stammering around one day," she stated, then went back to seriousness. "I'm sorry. But more than a week has passed. I don't think any of you will stand this any longer. Something has to be done, you know that."

"But … killing?!" Robin almost squeaked, which gave her serious composure several cracks. "No! I thought of dropping you next to an island and leaving you there, and after a month or two we'll come by and see if you're yourself again …" She had to admit she had taken the killing issue into consideration. But she thought she could never pull it through.

"No, Robin," Nami said firmly and positioned herself in front of her sister-at-heart, never looking away. "That won't do. What if I never change? If you'd do that, and come back to look at me from time to time and I don't change, what then? Your hope will crumble away more and more like a stale cookie, and besides, you'll need a new navigator, but I know Luffy would never replace me if I was still alive and there was the hope of my coming back." She paused for a moment, averting her eyes from Robin's horrified ones to stare to the floor next to her. "And apart from that, I … I can't live like this. It won't be me. Please Robin, please save me."

Her voice had died away to a mere whisper at her last words, and Robin swallowed hard. She just couldn't do that, could she? True, she had killed before, but did that mean she had done it happily? Of course not! And these had been people she hadn't even known …

"I'd rather die than live such a life, Robin. Honestly."

That pleading look in Nami's eyes made her hide her face in her hands. "I can't do that," she mumbled. "I'm sorry, I can't. It would not only break Captain's heart, you know."

"Okay," Nami said calmly, and as Robin looked up at her, she saw the younger woman nod slowly. "I'm sorry, but it can't stay like this."

Robin looked after her as she turned and went through the door. One minute later, she heard a shout and someone screaming and running away head over heels, and sighed with her head buried in her palms.

How could Nami expect such a thing from her? It was impossible. She could never, never do that. Never.

"I'm not going to do that," she muttered to herself and shook her head.

* * *

It was night. Everyone was sleeping the sleep of the exhausted, everyone but one person …

_Splash. _

"Hm?" Zoro asked no one in particular, awaking with a start from his night watch (= sleep) and turning his head to listen.

_Silence. _

Grumbling something, he stood up and went to the crow's nest's window which he had left open because it was a warm night. He narrowed his eyes at the horizon, but the fact that everything was dark and pitch black didn't make it easier to see anything.

He was just about to turn around and resume his night watch (= sleep) when he suddenly heard a small noise, almost inaudible and certainly so for people with lesser hearing skills than the well-trained swordsman.

"Huh?" he asked and looked at the water surrounding the ship. He narrowed his eyes once again, but he knew this noise all too well to just shrug it off. "Fuck!" he shouted all of a sudden and climbed down the rigging, jumping when he reached the middle.

"MAN OVERBOARD!" he shouted as loud as he could. "MAN OVERBOARD!"

Without hesitation or waiting for the rest of the crew to show, he tore his shirt off, kicked his boots away and jumped over the railing where he had seen (and heard) the bubbles raising to the surface, constantly lessening in numbers.

* * *

"Idiot! I didn't need your help, so fuck off!"

Zoro sighed and walked away, leaving one dripping wet and fuming navigator on the Sunny's wooden floor. The rest of the crew had gathered on deck and watched silently as the swordsman just threw them a glance and went away after having saved Nami out of the water.

_She jumped_, Robin though by herself. Despite her calm face, on the inside she was more than troubled about what had just happened. Nami's words from earlier resounded in her mind, over and over.

_Could you kill me?_

_I'm sorry, I can't!_ her inner voice screamed. One would never guess what she was thinking by judging from her face. It was just as always; she was used to hiding her feelings well, no matter how troubled she really was.

"Brook?" Luffy said hoarsely, and the skeleton turned his empty head towards the rubber boy. "Take care of her. Make sure she won't do something stupid." With that, he turned around and wanted to make his way towards the quarters, but a hand was put on his shoulder before he had made three steps.

"Luffy."

He turned around to see Robin's absolutely unmoved face. Behind her, Usopp folded his arms above his chest, avoiding his captain's eyes. Chopper let his head hang down while Franky's face was stained by tears silently flowing from his eyes. Sanji's jaw looked so tense as if he were about to crunch the teeth in his mouth. All this told him no good.

"Come," Robin almost commanded and led him towards the observation room, her hand never leaving his shoulder. "We have to talk."

The rest of the crew followed, minus Brook who was momentarily scolded by Nami for being all bony and idiotic. Not that it mattered to him; and that was exactly the reason why Luffy had assigned him for the task.

As Franky closed the door behind them all, Robin let go of Luffy and sat down on a sofa. Folding her hands in her lap, she looked up at their captain. "You know she wanted to kill herself right now."

Luffy showed no sign of anything. He just stood in the middle of the room, with shadows over his eyes and his fists clenched by his sides.

Robin took a deep breath before slowly saying, "Perhaps we should have let her do as she wanted."

Luffy's head shot up.

"She wants to die. We should let her." She knew she was speaking on orders from her own fear, her fear of having to face a horrible and cruel task. But at the same time, she also knew that it was what Nami wanted.

"Are you demented?" Luffy asked, his voice constrained and hard, cold steel in the darkness of the room. His whole body started to shake in what was probably suppressed anger. "I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!"

Robin closed her eyes for a second. It was idiotic of her to think they could convince Luffy of allowing such a thing to happen, but it was their last chance. _Her_ last chance.

"Luffy …" Sanji spoke up. "It's what she wants. You know that."

"I don't like this either …" Judging from Franky's tears, that was one huge understatement. "But Luffy, what else can we do?"

"NOTHING!" he yelled, and his dark aura blasted through the room like a large shock wave. "WE WILL WAIT!"

"We can't," Zoro simply said. He was leaning next to the door, with his arms folded and his glance lowered to the floor. "We can't do anything, and we can't wait."

"WE HAVE TO!" Luffy whirled around, his fists raised as if he wanted to fight them all. His hair was blown back by an unknown energy emerging from him. "WE WON'T BETRAY ANY OF OUR CREW! WE'RE NAKAMA!"

"It's not about betraying," Robin said, her tone still calm but trembling audibly. "It's about respecting her wishes, as nakama."

"NO!" Luffy yelled.

"It is, Luffy," Usopp said, his hand on Chopper's small shoulder who now cried silently. "We have to let her go." His voice broke at the last word, and he turned his head away as he also started to cry.

"NO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" he yelled, his face contorted in anger and pain. "She … I … I'm in …" he started but never finished the sentence. Like a flash, he dashed out of the room, shoving them aside as he went.

"I know," Robin whispered. A tear fell from her chin onto the sleeve of her shirt, a dark stain on yellow fabric. "I know, Luffy."

She didn't have much hope to escape.

* * *

The next day, Nami got out of her curse-induced haze with a shock. She gasped as her knees gave in and she fell to the floor. Brook, who was always with her since that last night, asked her something in a worried tone, but she didn't know what. She stared at the wooden planks of the ship, but she saw nothing. And suddenly, she knew. She knew it was over, that this was the end. If she changed now, she would never change back.

Her last chance. She would take it.

She stood up slowly and made two steps in the direction of the ship's bow. Brook wanted to take her arm to help her stay upright, but she only shook her head. "Could you go, please? I want to talk to Luffy."

The skeleton nodded and turned around, not without giving her another of these worried glances. Even if he had no facial muscles, she knew what his face would look like if he had. She knew him a bit by now.

On shaky legs, she made her way towards Luffy's place as fast as possible. She didn't have much time left, but she would take advantage of it as long as she could. The last bit of her time … she only hoped they did the right thing.

"Luffy," she called softly at his back, having a slight déjà vu.

He turned slowly, and a cold hand took her heart in an iron grip when she saw his terribly expressionless face. His eyes were surrounded with red, and she knew he had cried. And it hurt her past belief.

"What?" he asked soundlessly.

She stepped forward, forcing herself to look him straight in the eyes. Because it wouldn't be long until she would never see them again. "It's ending," she said calmly. "This is the last time. I know it."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Nami flinched at his hissed words. Luffy jumped off the figurehead and stood there facing her. She still couldn't read him … but she didn't need to. "That's bullshit! It will change, Nami," he rasped and she didn't recognise his voice anymore. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. "It will change! You will be yourself again, and everything will be fine, and we will sail away and laugh about this in a year …"

Nami shook her head. "No. No year. I am dying."

"NO!" he yelled, and she swallowed hard as tears welled up in her eyes at the thought she had to leave him like this. To leave them all like this … but especially him.

"Luffy," she whispered and reached up to pull his head downwards. She leaned against his forehead, her eyes never leaving his. "You have to find a good navigator to lead you to One Piece. Make sure you'll reach it. I know you will."

"Nami!" he choked out and took her into a bone-shattering embrace. "I won't leave you … I won't let you leave … Stay … Stay with us, with me …"

"I can't." Her hands grabbed onto the back of his vest, as if they desperately wanted to hold on to this life. She breathed in his scent – she would never forget it. He was the one who had saved her long ago. He was the one bringing her to life again – real life. The first thing she had seen in her new life had been him, and it seemed only fair to her that he would be the last thing she saw. The person who meant more to her than anything else. The person she loved.

"I won't let you go," he sobbed, and she felt the shoulder of her shirt becoming wet with his tears. That was fair, too … after all, she did the same with his vest.

"You have to," she said softly and drove her hand through his black silky hair. "For your dream, you have to let me go."

"I don't want to!"

"For the dreams of all of you," she smiled in tears and backed off a bit to look him in his tear-glazed eyes. "You can't sacrifice them for me. I don't want you to. You're the captain, Captain. And they trust you like I trust you."

She smiled as he took her face in both his hands. "Do the right thing, Luffy."

He said nothing, and she felt her heart breaking in unison with his. She could see it in his eyes. If only she had more time, she could have said so much more. She could have told them all how much she loved them. Her family. And how much she loved him …

That was when the darkness came creeping into her view, and she gasped. No … no, she needed more time … she couldn't …

"The end," she whispered with wide eyes. She had said she wanted to die, and it hadn't been a lie. She had really wanted it. But now, with the end truly there, facing her, she was scared shitless. "It's coming …"

"No!" Luffy's voice was constrained, and she saw his jaw clenching. She took her hand up to caress his cheek one last time.

"Tell the others I love them …"

He bit his lip, for fear of shouting what he really wanted to say out loud and making it worse for her. He still couldn't accept it, but her scared face hurt him. "I will."

"Luffy … I …" Her eyes were wide, taking in his face as if taking a mental snapshot. To remember it through the dark. But she knew it was impossible. The dark was coming … it almost blocked her view. She sobbed dryly and clenched her hands. "Robin!"

"I'm there," she heard her friend say from somewhere behind her. She smiled, knowing that at least she could make it less difficult for all of them. But still … seeing Luffy's face like this, all tear-streaked and pained, she was tempted to try to hold on to life as hard as she could.

"Nami!" he sobbed and took his hat in one hand, setting it on her head. "Nami, hold on … don't give up, please …"

"I can't. I'm sorry …" She felt her voice going weak. It became more and more difficult to even speak.

* * *

Her eyes … her beautiful eyes. They were full of shadows, the shadows he hated with all his might. Still, it changed nothing.

"Don't give up! Please! Nami, stay with me …"

He heard the words coming out of his mouth, but he didn't think about them. Her mouth gaped as fear came over her again, he could feel it. He wanted to change it so badly … if she went, what about them all? What about him? He couldn't let that happen … he had to do something … at least, this was his last chance.

"Nami, I love you."

Realisation in her dark-stained eyes. "I … I lo–" she managed to utter, but then stopped short.

And he knew what that meant.

"No."

Hands started to sprout out of her shoulders.

He also knew what that meant.

"No!" he yelled helplessly as her mouth twitched, eager to show that evil grin that_ just wasn't hers._ He wanted to banish it, forever.

It spread slowly … he couldn't take it. The hands grew, twisted, and wrapped themselves around her throat.

His mind went completely blank. And in that moment, he knew what to do.

With what strength was left in him, he bent forward and pressed his lips against hers in a desperate attempt to get her back. He saw her eyes widen as their mouths connected, and just in a moment she would shatter his world into pieces by saying one of those things … but right now, he didn't care. He only tasted her, her sweet lips, soft as the surface of rose petals and flavouring of … well, of her. Of her as she had always been.

Time stood still in that moment.

The hands tightened around her throat …

She sighed under his lips, and he wondered …

And then, she collapsed.

Luffy gasped as Nami went limp in his arms. He stared at her lifeless body, then slowly lifted his gaze towards Robin, who looked equally shocked. Meeting her eyes, she slowly shook her head, and he noticed the hands were gone.

* * *

Nami gasped as she shot up in her bed. Blinking furiously, she tried to adjust her eyes to the brightness of the sunlight flooding into her room.

Her room? No, a different one … infirmary?

She looked around in confusion, seeing all the instruments Chopper had arranged neatly and accurately. And Luffy. Luffy in a chair next to her bed, sleeping.

Nami furrowed her brows in confusion. What was the meaning of all this? Why was she in the infirmary, and what did Luffy do in here? He seemed to sleep soundly, his mouth gaping slightly, and looked kind of cute, actually.

She also noticed the dark circles underneath his eyes. Exhausted, yes. He looked exhausted.

Just as she opened her mouth to wake him, it came back. It all came back, crashing down on her like a massive thunderstorm. The island, the witch, what she had said … her nakama's faces … the terrible things … Luffy's face, close to her … his kiss.

She stared at his sleeping form. Had this really happened? Hadn't it been a bad dream, and now she was awake and free of it? But her feelings said no, loud and clear.

And now … was she dead? The curse, what about the curse? She had to say something sweet just to try it out … but the thought of failure, of insulting Luffy again sent a flash of pain through her chest. Even if he was sleeping … she couldn't bear it. The thought of causing him pain caused her pain, real physical pain.

Still, she had to know.

"Luffy …" she said in a whisper. "Luffy, you're beautiful."

She stared.

"You're beautiful," she repeated. And just couldn't believe it. "You're beautiful."

She had to say it over and over again, to make sure she heard it, really heard it. His sleeping form disappeared behind a hazy curtain, and she realised she was crying. But hell, she so didn't care about it.

"You're beautiful!"

Luffy jumped in surprise – and stilled when he saw she was awake.

"Luffy – you're so beautiful!" She didn't care about the sobs that escaped amongst her words. She just didn't care. All that mattered was that she was alive, truly alive, and that she could tell him, really tell him.

She couldn't help laughing. She laughed and cried simultaneously, until she felt arms slide around her, taking her in a tight embrace. "Luffy," she whispered.

"You're back."

"I am."

She saw his face in front of her. These wonderful black eyes, looking right into hers.

"I missed you … I missed you so much."

Nami smiled as he kissed her so hard as if he'd never let her go again.

* * *

It was one week later. Things had normalised again, and the crew had recovered. Brook refused to sing and play anything other than "Binks' Sake", so often they couldn't hear it anymore. Sanji was his old self again, swooning over Robin and Nami as if nothing had ever happened. Chopper and Usopp had dared to come out of their hiding places, even if they were a bit jumpy around their navigator. Zoro was as grumpy and taciturn as ever, and Franky seemed like he just couldn't stop being awfully cheerful.

Robin smiled. That moment out there on deck had been the worst in her life. She was overjoyed that everything had come out well – a fact which expressed itself not through her facial expression but only her eyes, shining brightly all the time.

She looked over to where their captain sat at the railing, fishing with Usopp, Chopper and Brook (who had put down his violin for once). From time to time, she could watch him look at Nami, a slow smile spreading over his face when she met his gaze.

Robin felt almost like a voyeur by witnessing that heavily romantic exchange of glances, but it made her glad. Because it told her they were both happy.

* * *

**Author's note:** C'est la fin! Hope you enjoyed :-)


End file.
